PUYALLUP — It’s now three consecutive years that Skyview’s baseball team has qualified for this stage of the Class 4A postseason: the state semifinals.
The past two years are special in their own rights, but this year has its own uniqueness.
Mainly, because the Storm haven’t written the final script yet, but they know what it entails.
The best is yet to come, they say.
“We can be even better,” said senior Ryan Pitts.
Saturday, Skyview clinched a state semifinal berth for next Friday night at Gesa Stadium in Pasco behind 1-0 victories over Inglemoor followed by Eastlake in the regional final at Rogers High School. In both games, the Storm got two complete-game pitching performances by Pitts, the 4A Greater St. Helens player of the year, and Cooper Barnum and offensively, got clutch late-game run-scoring efforts for each game’s only run.
A pair of 1-0 state wins was boosted by big energy in both games, Barnum noted.
“And that’s what’s taken us above any team in the state,” he said. “It’s getting that one run that wins those games.”
Skyview has climbed the ladder the past two years, placing third in 2017 followed by a state runner-up finish to Richland last spring. For senior shortstop Noah Guyette, he spoke of unfinished business for next weekend.
“We definitely will come back to win that first game,” he said, “and get to the championship and win it.”
Head coach Seth Johnson cautioned his players postgame to not focus too far ahead, but rather, the first step that’s in front of them. That’s Moses Lake, a 5-0 winner over Richland in its regional final Saturday. The two teams square off at 7 p.m. Friday in Pasco for a spot in next Saturday’s 4A title game. Olympia and Issaquah is the other 4A state semifinal.
Barnum’s three-hit shutout with six strikeouts against Eastlake in the regional final followed up Pitts’ eight-strikeout performance against Inglemoor when the Storm took advantage of a fifth-inning error off a pickoff attempt at second base for the lone run. Lowell Dunmire broke up Kolby Solomon’s no-hit bid with a leadoff fifth-inning single and scored on that error.
In fact, Dunmire was clutch in the 1-0 nightcap in a game that was scoreless through 5 ½ innings. His two-out RBI single scored Barnum, whose double gave Skyview its first runner in scoring position since the second inning.
“I knew I was going to hit it hard eventually,” he said. “If I was going to get a fastball early in the count, I was going to swing at it and see what happens.”
Skyview is now on a season-best 8-game winning streak, and confidence couldn’t be higher, said Pitts.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves and everyone around us,” he said.
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Regional final
SKYVIEW 1, EASTLAKE 0
Eastlake 000 000 0 — 0 3 1
Skyview 000 001 x — 1 4 1
Eastlake
Pitching — Nathan Fitzgibbons 6 IP (L), 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K 2 BB; Highlights — Kirchoff 1-3, Lewis 1-3, Titus 1-1.
Skyview
Pitching — Cooper Barnum 7 IP (W), 3 H, 6 K, 1 BB; Highlights — Ryan Pitts 1-3; Cooper Barnum 1-2, R; Lowell Dumire 1-3, RBI; Michael Stromberg 1-2.
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Regional semifinal
SKYVIEW 1, INGLEMOOR 0
Skyview 000 010 0 — 1 1 0
Inglemoor 000 000 0 — 0 4 1
Skyview
Pitching — Ryan Pitts 7 IP (W), 4 H, 8 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Lowell Dunmire 1-3, R.
Inglemoor
Pitching — Kolby Solomon 7 IP (L), 1 H, 5 K, 4 BB; Highlights — Liede 1-2, Thurman 1-3, Hedge 1-3, Malcarr 1-2.
